Beyond
by nicki-gurl
Summary: He was the new King of Seishun. He was a hardened bar worker. They were worlds apart, bound by the honor of an agreement. With Tezuka so unsure of himself and Ryoma so untrusting about the world beyond can these two finally work out their differences?
1. Chapter 1: The Pact

Summary: He was the new King of Seishun. He was a hardened bar worker. They were worlds apart, bound by the honor of an agreement. He would need to fight of his insecurities and doubts. He would need to overcome his scars and apprehensions. With Tezuka so unsure of himself and Ryoma so untrusting about the world beyond can these two finally work out their differences and realize a greater happiness?

Rating: T for adult contents, but nothing really that explicit yet. It might go up in the future if I decide to write lemons

Pairings: Echizen Ryoma x Tezuka Kunimitsu ; Echizen Ryoma x Yukimura Seiichi

Disclaimer: I DOn't own Prince of Tennis or any of its character. If I did it would officially become a yaoi anime and well… use your perverted imaginations! I also don't own the book in which I loosely based this story.

Warning: This is a yaoi story. It has boy x boy love here so for those who can't appreciate such thing you are warned. This chapter is fairly safe. No real adult contents to be worried about.

AN: This is my second Prince of Tennis story in . It's my first attempt at a Pillar Pair and I hope you guys would like it. This is an AU, there is little to nothing related to the anime or the manga.

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**BEYOND**

**Chapter One: The Pact**

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**The Kingdom of Seishun**

Clacking sounds echoed throughout the corridor as boots met the marble surface. Long strides slowly ate the distance from the foyer to the royal wing. If one were to look around the area one would be amazed about the vast wealth and elegance the area simply oozed. But he was already immune to it, as he was immune to the other such areas littered throughout the palace and other estates they owned.

Guards stood in their places, not even batting an eyelash at the presence of the young man. They did, however, felt a twinge of empathy to him for they knew why he was being called. They always knew, because they always talked to the maids and the maids always know. There was a saying in the palace that if you want to know something going on with the royal family even before the government was made aware of, talk to the maids. Fortunately for the royals those who were privy of their inner sanctum and the guards stationed in the vicinity of the royal members were the finest and most loyal of their subjects; they would die first before using what they knew against them. At least that was what Lord Fuji had said.

That was true. But Lord Fuji's motivated speech to them once was enough for them to think twice of ratting the secrets of the family.

Before the young man entered the royal wing he paused for a moment, seemingly battling with some inner struggles. He frowned at the heavy oak doors that led to the private wing of His Majesty. He had an inkling of the reason he was being summoned. He was surprised that it was actually going to happen.

Before he stepped in a man suddenly appeared from one of the rooms of the wings. The man looked up from the papers he was going through and smiled at the young man.

"Your Majesty." He bowed before the young man, missing the sudden rush of emotion in his visage.

"My god, he died?!" the young man exclaimed.

The other quickly straightened up from his bow and flushed for making the young royal arrive at that conclusion. "No! His Majesty is resting in his chambers. I'm sorry for making you think of the worse. It was tactless of me."

The colors rushed back at the young man and he frowned again. "But why… he didn't! He couldn't have. Banji, tell me he didn't do it."

Banji smiled at the outburst. "Yes, your father did. Kuniharu abdicated the throne. Just a few hours ago, in the presence of Prince Tachibana of Fudomine, Count Hiyoshi from Hyotei, Lord Sengoku of Yamabuki, Prince Kajimoto of Jyousei Shounan, Lord Saeki of Rokkaku and Count Fuji Yuuta of St. Rudolph. The realm was well represented. You are now the new King of Seishun, only the coronation ceremony lacked for formality's sake."

"Why was I not informed of this? Why was I left in the dark?"

"Because your father knew how you would react to his decision. He was not up for another battle of wits with you, no offense intended. Tezuka-kun, what's done is done and your father felt you are ready to take your place as the ruler of this land. He wants to rest now."

Tezuka scowled at that point. He knew the reason behind the sudden actions but he didn't like to think of its implications. His father was not young anymore, having married his mother at a later age. He had sired his only son when he was almost fifty years old, and now that Tezuka was twenty five the younger man knew his father's time was almost at its end.

"Tezuka-kun…"

Banji, as Seishun's Prime Minister Banda Mikiya was fondly called, mildly frowned at the visage of the young royal. He had known the royal family since forever, having grown up with the recently abdicated king as well as the late king. The three had grown up together in the main palace of Seishun, shared tutors and instigated one mischief after another. It was no surprise that the older man had always been amongst the few who regarded royal family with such familiarity that had other people addressed them so they would be thrown in jail without questions.

"He… he could still have stayed as king. I could have taken some of his works but he could still stay the way he is. Why did he have to abdicate? He should have the title until the day it is naturally taken from him."

The older man patted Tezuka's shoulders encouragingly. "Your father has his reasons, as I am sure he will enlighten you of in a few minutes. I would like to also argue the fact that your father would like to be able to rest, and having the title of king, even if he does not have to do the required duties that comes part and parcel with it, would still greatly stress his health."

"There is more to this than you are letting on, Banji," Tezuka declared.

A smile creased at the corner of the older man's lips. "Sharp as ever. I expect His Majesty would tell you about it himself. Hurry along. He has been waiting for you for the past hour."

Tezuka sighed and followed the familiar path towards the king's, now former king, bed chamber. He nodded to the guard stationed before the grand doors and the guard opened them, bowing before the direction of the bed and announcing the presence of the young royal.

"His Majesty, King Kunimitsu!"

Kuniharu Tezuka let a smile grace his lips and he waved his hand towards the guard in dismissal, wanting to have some time alone with his son. He beckoned him to the bed and the young man did not hesitate to climb on the soft mattress and sat beside his father.

"I have heard from Banji what has been done in my absence."

The older man chuckled at the hint of sulk in his son's voice. "I thought you would oppose my decision so it is better you did not witness the ceremony. And yes, it is binding and legal even if you look up our laws. You are now the new King of Seishun. Or you will be after your coronation in a week's time."

Tezuka sighed in defeat. "I wish you have me informed of this. Yes, I would have opposed but if you convinced me of its necessity I would not have made any protest. You are the mighty king of our land. I… I'm too young to lead this nation."

"Nonsense my son," Kuniharu scoffed. "You are more than ready to lead you people, even in such a tender age. There is no one more responsible of a man that can lead this country into prosperity and peace."

Tezuka frowned at that. "There are still things I need to learn, many things. You ascended the throne when you were fifty five. Yet you still needed to learn a lot of things about the country then. How could I be ready now?"

"There is a difference between our situations. You knew from the beginning you will be the next in line and thus have been prepped for this momentous occasion since you were a child, since you were six to be exact. I, on the other hand, had the title given to me by default all of the sudden. God, when I think of it this position should never have been mine. I was just a distant relative, and to think that twelve Echizens had to die before I ascended the throne. But I did, and now it is your time."

The younger man patted his father's hand soothingly. "You did a great job leading our people and they appreciate your leadership. You came by the title through no fault of yours but you became a king because you chose to take responsibility of this land."

"Ah, such pretty words from my son," Kuniharu teased. "And now it is your turn to become a king yourself."

Tezuka remained silent for a few minutes, listen to the soft breathes of his father. It was really no use arguing. As Banji had said what has been done was done, and nothing could change it. He sighed, an indication of resignment to the fact. "Is that all you have to say to me father?"

It was Kuniharu's turn to become contemplative. "There is another thing…"

The younger man stiffened from his position and tried to brace himself once again. He focused his intense gaze back to his father's face as the older one struggled for the right words to say.

"There is another thing to be discussed. There is the matter of the last Echizen heir."

A frown appeared again in the younger man's face, this time more fierce than ever. "Whoever he or she is, he or she has no more right to the throne. The title has passed to you legally. Our blood is as royal as the Echizens."

"Be that as it may be your, our, blood is a direct descendant to the throne but whoever the last heir is has a more direct lineage. I hope you have remembered what has been arranged before the Queen was forced into hiding."

"Yes, how could I not remember that?" Tezuka said a bit bitterly. "Not when it has been told to me over and over again. But it has been made when I was still a child, when the heir was yet to be born."

"We will honor the promise made before the council and the royal family. We should count ourselves honored for King Nanjiroh could have chosen any other of royal blood but he chose you, my son."

"We don't even know if the baby had survived or not. We don't even know if the Queen had given birth, nor what the gender was."

Kuniharu smiled at that. "You know as well as I do that this country and its people accept the marriage of both the opposite sex as well as of the same sex. Circumstances made you king instead of a consort. Through the child's blood you both could continue the royal lineage. As for the Queen giving birth, it was confirmed before all communication was needed to be stopped. She was shipped to the Americas with a fortune to set them on and a distant relative to take care of them. Communication was only to be done in extreme emergency as the threat was still there."

"What changed now? Why all of the sudden?"

"Because the last living descendant of the Imamura has at last been declared dead to the world. Has been into hiding for the past years but it has been confirmed that he was one of the people on board the ship that capsized on the way to the Americas. No one survived the tragedy. It is fortunate that he was unable to reach his destination for we have feared he had found the hiding place of the last members of the royal family."

Tezuka looked away from his father. He understood the implications the course of the conversation was taking. That did not mean he liked it one bit. "Is there..? Could I not…?"

Kuniharu sighed. He did not like seeing his son distraught but he had made a promise, one that is binding not only by their law but also by sheer principle and pride. So he did not have any qualms when he dropped his biggest bomb. "Please uphold the honor of our family. As my last request to you before we part ways."

Tezuka closed his eyes, trying to drive away the unwanted image of his father in his demise. He could feel the heaviness that was settling in his heart and he took a deep breath to compose himself before he turned back to his father.

"And so it shall be done."

***************************

Tezuka strode off from the King's wing and wandered around the corridors aimlessly, not really paying attention to where he was going. He didn't even notice that he had reached his own wing, on the other side of the palace before he was brought out of reverie by a voice calling him.

"Tezuka!"

He snapped out of his reverie when a hand clamped its way to his shoulder. He lifted his dazed eyes from looking unseeingly at the floor to the compassionate green eyes of one of his best friend and personal bodyguard.

"Are you okay? You seemed a bit distracted."

Tezuka shook his head. "I'm okay Oishi. I just had a talk with my father."

Oishi thought the answer was enough to fuss about as he ushered the soon-to-be-king in the sitting room. Tezuka found his other best friend sitting at one of the sofa, his hand draped at the elegantly over the arm rests and his seemingly innocent smile present.

"Saa, Oishi had been calling for quite some time Tezuka. Are you sure you are really fine?"

Tezuka wanted to reiterate his earlier statement but a look at his friend's smiling visage and he knew the brown haired man would easily see through his lie. "Not really."

Oishi sat across the sofa Fuji was occupying and Tezuka followed suit. "What's bothering you? Is it because of your father's abdication? You will be a great king Tezuka; there is no doubt about it."

The soon-to-be king frowned at that statement. "How come you know the abdication while I had to be appraised after the deed was done?"

Fuji chuckled. "Saa… If you want to be the first to be updated, talk to the maids. They know everything."

"Momo overheard one of the private maids of the king talking about the ceremony. I guess you father chose the time well, as you were still on your way here from a conference in Hyotei."

"Hmn… he did, didn't he," was Tezuka's solemn reply. Silence descended in the group as the two waited for the continuation of the tale from the royal. Tezuka felt unnerved by the intense gaze that was directed in his direction but he ignored it, trying to process all that has happened to him that day. But when he felt the cerulean eyes trying to ignite him he sighed and gave up.

"He wants me to honor the betrothal to the last Echizen heir."

"What!" Oishi exclaimed.

Fuji, as usual, just gave him a serene smile. Tezuka took off his glasses and rubbed his head as he felt a migraine creeping its way. He tried to blink the annoying feeling away and placed his glasses back on before redirecting his attention back to his friends.

"I am to marry the last Echizen."

"This is interesting development Tezuka," Fuji said in his sing-song voice. "We've been pushing you to make you make your moves from time to time and here you are, preceding us in the marrying stage."

"Fuji," Oishi said admonishingly. "This is no time to joke about. Marriage is a serious step that should never be taken lightly. It is a permanent union, and in royals' case, it can never be reversed. Ever."

"Saa, you worry too much Oishi," Fuji replied. "Betrothals are as binding as marriage. In a sense they are already married, it lacks only the protocol it needs."

"What are you going to do now Tezuka?"

Tezuka sighed and tilted his head to look in the carved ceiling. "To honor what has been agreed upon in the name of my father."

TBC…

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Wah!!! Finally my very own Pillar Pair story! I hope you guys would like it. I'm deviating from my usual timeline, which is contemporary, and writing a medieval type story. It's really hard because it really entail researches. But I'm having so much fun writing this that it compensates for the extra work I had to do.

Updates of this story would be scarcer than my first Prince of Tennis story. **Double Standards** is my baby and I'm focusing more of my attention and time in that one. Expect updates of about once a month, depending on the progress.

Thank you for reading and please review!

**nicki-gurl**


	2. Chapter 2: The Paradox

**Summary**: He was the new King of Seishun. He was a hardened bar worker. They were worlds apart, bound by the honor of an agreement. He would need to fight of his insecurities and doubts. He would need to overcome his scars and apprehensions. With Tezuka so unsure of himself and Ryoma so untrusting about the world beyond can these two finally work out their differences and realize a greater happiness?

**Rating**: T for adult contents, but nothing really that explicit yet. It might go up in the future if I decide to write lemons

**Pairings**: Echizen Ryoma x Tezuka Kunimitsu; Echizen Ryoma x Yukimura Seiichi

**Disclaimer**: I DOn't own Prince of Tennis or any of its character. If I did it would officially become a yaoi anime and well… use your perverted imaginations!

**Warning**: This is a yaoi story. It has boy x boy love here so for those who can't appreciate such thing you are warned. This chapter is fairly safe. No real adult contents to be worried about.

**AN**: This is the second chapter of Beyond! I'm so happy for the warm reception of this story. And it gave me all the necessary motivation to finish the second chapter sooner than I anticipated. I have the whole general plot finished, as well as the chapter outlines and character profiles. But the chapters themselves are proving harder to come up but thanks to your entire support plot bunnies are on a rampage!

I dedicate this chapter to all those who read the first one, especially to the following who took time to leave a comment in the form of a review! Love you guys!

**12nothings: **You were the one who made me decide to finally post this story.

**luckystar03: **I have chapter outlines and notes and the plot in general finished, but the actual chapters takes more time. But I'm so inspired now that I was able to finish the second chapter faster than I anticipated. I'm glad you also enjoyed my other stories.

**hyperdude: **Thank you, thank you!

**FallenAngel Sayu: **I love pillar pair too!

**2-D-A-N-I-0: **I get inspirations from everywhere! From all the things I see read or hear. I guess it comes from my being a little unhinged… XD

I have a tendency to go on and on about specific things, and I am trying to keep that from manifesting in my stories. It's really a hard habit to break after getting use to that during my school time (in my major classes when I need to describe chemical reactions and such my professors normally ask for a very detailed explanation…). I have read a number of AU pillar pair stories and I try to keep in mind what they have written and keep my stories as different as possible. It's still in its beginning, so there is still lot going to happen in the future that I hope would set the story's identity.

**emily: **Yup, Ryoma's making his appearance in the second chapter

**kay54: **I'm happy you liked his story.

**HopeGrace1290: **Yeah, I'm updating!

**vhevhe: **No, I'm not releasing my OT5 story yet because I still need to polish it. What can I say, I'm just a total Ryoma fan and he is so gorgeous and PoT is so full of sexy men… So you guessed where I got the idea? That was a really nice story. But the book is merely an inspiration so don't expect it to be like it.

**CherryBlossomYingFa: **Yup, I'm really updating it sooner than anticipated. Thanks to you guys!

**tsub4ki: **Yeah, I agree about Tezuka's honor. He will follow his father even if it is against his will… which will nto be in the future ^^. I'll be updating more now, and I will finish this story. All of my Prince of Tennis story…

To make up for my tardiness I'm posting a new story entitled **Ryoma's Lover.** It is a six chapter mini story that I finished during the holiday season (at least it has been fruitful ^^). I hope you'll enjoy that story. The full summary can be seen at my profile.

And now on to the second chapter… Read, enjoy and review!

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**BEYOND**

**Chapter Two: The Paradox**

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**Americas**

Ryoma cringed as he heard his name called again for the third time in the minute. But he didn't stand up from where he sat. Instead he took another sip of his juice and cleared away his breakfast before he even made any move to answer the call. With a heavy sigh and an even heavier tray laden with food he climbed up the stairs to the room farthest away in the hall. He heaved a sigh again and tried to regain his composure before he opened the door and faced the caller.

"You lazy bastard, what took you so long? I have been calling you non-stop!"

"I'm sorry Sasabe-san but I had to take care of the orders first because they arrived rather early," Ryoma lied as the real reason was he wanted to finish his breakfast first for a change.

Sasabe just let out a growl and accepted the tray that was given to him.

Ryoma watched his 'father' dig in through the breakfast with so much gusto. The corner of his lips stretched with a beginning of a smile that he quickly suppressed. It would only antagonize the older man if he thought he was finding something amusing with his current predicament. But if truth be told Ryoma was quite thankful of the developments, though he was still a bit unused with the newly found freedom and old apprehensions die really hard.

He walked towards the window to check the street below and noted that one of the brothels down on the street was just closing. It has been a thriving business these past few weeks, with the port overrun by cargo ships at this season, and it was taking its toll on the 'Sangria', as the bar bellow was called, because they do not actually publicly sell the pleasure a brothel offered. Not that it stopped the other workers there from earning themselves few coins on the side.

The bar was all the home Ryoma had in his life. He had worked there since God-knows-when and has received nothing back but a roof to reside, barely enough food, hand-me-down clothes and things, and a slap or a kick now and then. But his 'father' fell ill recently, rendering him bed ridden and the older man, knowing that Ryoma could now easily leave and venture elsewhere, offered him the ownership the 'Sangria'.

More than anything else the young man wanted freedom: freedom to come and go as he pleases, freedom to do things in his pace. He wanted nothing more than to answer only to himself. So he agreed, and he has only to live out the rest of the older man's life before the bar would become officially his. But for now he still needed to pacify the grumpy old man who had been the bane of his life since he could think.

"Have the accounting of last night here later. I don't trust your ability to tally all our profits," Sasabe said as he pushed the tray away from him. "Are the stock okay? What about the workers? And have you cleaned the bar already? Do I have to remind you each and every thing that you need to do?"

Ryoma took deep breathes to keep his cool before answering. "I'll bring it up to you later on. The stock is okay and they would be coming later before the bar opens. I am still cleaning when you called out for breakfast."

Sasabe redden in anger at the being talked back, and Ryoma quickly tried to dissipate the tense situation. Really, old apprehensions die hard. "I'm sorry, it's just that we only hire part time workers and it's only me here in the morning. I think we really should hire additional workers."

"Nonsense! We already have two waitresses and a bartender. What more could we need them for? They will only cut through our profit."

Ryoma sighed and vowed to hire an additional worker as soon as the bar becomes officially his. He reported the happenings of the previous night before he was allowed to return downstairs to attend to his chores. When he returned to the common room of the bar his head started to feel the uncomfortable start of a very promising headache. He tied his long green-tinged hair out of the way and sighed. Gathering some cleaning materials from a closet he started to shove chairs and tables on the side to begin another typical day of his life.

A shout was heard from the outside, indicating a delivery. He dropped the rag he was holding and answered out in a lowered, somewhat husky voice.

"I'm coming."

He quickly freed his hair from its confines, smoothing it back. He checked his appearance at the crude mirror situated at the end of the room. When he was satisfied he straitened out and opened the back door of the bar. He was met with a broad back of the delivery man, whose attention was drawn to the women walking out from the next-door brothel doing their last minute chores before they indulge themselves of actually sleeping while in a bed.

Eager to finish the business Ryoma cleared his throat loudly to get the man's attention. The man turned at his voice after casting another lustful look at the buxom red-head across the street, ready to regain his normal unfriendly visage to the unfortunate servant who was to receive him. But instead his eyes bulged and his mouth hung open.

What he saw was beyond the beauty he had ever seen. In the lights of the early morning, with the sunlight casting a vibrant radiance the vision that appeared before him had rendered him speechless. Even garbed in some of the most unflattering clothes in existence the person in front of him held beauty beyond word and a presence one cannot help but acknowledge and follow. And being new to the company he was working he was not aware of the existence of Montara's most sought after person.

"I don't have the time of the day mister. Either you give me what I had paid for or you better start looking for a new job."

The delivery man came out from his trance but his voice still failed him. Despite possessing the common bigotry of a traditional macho man he could not help but jump at the authority the woman before him exuded. He handed out the receipt before turning to his cart and extracting kegs of beer, welcoming the distraction to help himself recover from his blunder. Soon another emotion rose from the close scrutiny of the seemingly fragile woman, one that he hated to admit was apprehension. And as the duplicate copy of the receipt was handed back to him with another curt and clipped response of being more on time and more efficient his temporary inability to speak became a godsend, feeling chastised like a schoolboy being reprimanded.

"If that is not the epitome of 'looking available but unreachable' then I don't know what else can work."

Ryoma whirled at the sound of the voice and he let out a genuine smile that reached his eyes. Across the streets the women at the brothel looked on with envy and longing as they watched the interaction.

The tiredness went out from his whole visage as he stood up and gave the new comer a totally uncharacteristic smile. Normally his expressions to other people aside from the man upstairs were only a choice between a cocky smirk, an annoyed frown or a sultry come-hither look. Maybe if one gets lucky they would get a genuine emotion in the form of anger amplified in his golden eyes. Sasabe had the lone privilege of seeing a terrified and cowering Ryoma and a docile one. But with this man Ryoma could not help but feel all the tension leave his over-worked body and succumb to the sunny disposition of the other one.

"You know, half the town already has me as you lover or something."

A scowl appeared in his face and he directed his gaze at the nosy neighbors, trying to scare them with his mean countenance. All that achieved was to look haughtier and more aloof, thus attracting more attention to him, particularly from the men who were out. He reached out at the other and pulled him inside the bar, closing the door with a bang.

"Sei-chan! Thank God you're here. Now I won't suffer alone," Ryoma said rather happily.

"Sou ka… Even without the girly clothes this morning Ryo-chan drives men crazy"

Ryoma hit him playfully in arm. "It's morning. I am not going outside today so I do not need the disguise. Tonight is soon enough for me to continue this lame charade, Seiichi Yukimura!"

Yukimura chuckled and proceeded to the common room, eyeing the progress of the other man. Without another word he continued what Ryoma was on the process of doing and the act elicited another warm smile from the normally snarky man. This was their silent routine everytime the other visited him, which was really very often, giving Ryoma some time to accomplish his other chores and thus give him an opportunity later on to have some rest.

Ryoma's uncharacteristic attachment to the teal-haired man was a fact that needed more analyzing. He was never inclined to socialize, because he was forced to alter his identity since the man who took him in realized the worth of the rare beauty he possessed. But when Yukimura Seiichi appeared in his life Ryoma found himself letting his guard down with the other man.

By some twist of fate the golden-eyed beauty ended up helping Yukimura on their first meeting, and that started a bond he had never shared with anyone else. He never had anyway grateful to him, anyone who owed their life to him. Despite the reluctance of the other man in divulging his past his willingness to put up with all his moods and his effortless ability to decipher them all and make him feel better more than make up for it.

They heard an insistent knock and Yukimura motioned Ryoma back to the kitchen, sparing the younger man the prospect of playing the charade again. He pulled open the door a little bit and looked at the young boy that stood before him. After taking the message the boy was tasked to give Yukimura closed the door and signaled Ryoma to come back again to the common room. The younger man did so, carrying two mugs of warm chocolate drinks. He settled it on one of the cleaned table and inquired about the visitor.

"It was your dancer's brother. Seems like Anna sprained her ankle and wouldn't be able to perform tonight."

Ryoma sighed as another item was added to the list of his worries for the day. The dancing was the main attraction of the bar aside from the good drinks they provided. It would have been okay to leave the night without the said show but hell, he was competing with brothels: where drinks and bodies were up for sale. He rubbed his head in annoyance and decided a possible solution.

"Seems like I'll be playing dual role tonight," he announced.

Yukimura smiled teasingly at the younger man. "Arh, what's this? You're actually going to willingly go up the stage when you swore you'll never do it again?"

Ryoma scowled at him. "Not like I have a choice here. It's just for a few nights, I think. Until Anna's ankle heal."

"I'll come by and lend my hand in the bar tonight until you need not dance anymore," Yukimura proclaimed. "Things would get rowdier with you up the stage."

The only reply he got was wet rag that went in his way, an item he easily, with great amusement, dodged.

***************************

Ryoma fidgeted from his position before the vanity mirror as he assessed his appearance. He cursed under his breath as his reflection looked back at him. _This is so unfair. I'm an adult for God's sake. Why do I still look this…? Argh! Seiichi looks more effeminate than me but why does no one mistake him for a girl?_

While Ryoma was lost in his own monologue the door to the dressing room opened the aforementioned man entered with his smile more prominent than ever.

"Saa… I knew you would look good in those clothes."

And it was an understatement of the century. The costume fitted him, dare people say, perfectly, whatever cloth there was in the rather skimpy costume. The material of the dress was rather cheap rayon of a deep red color. The top part of the costume started just above his shoulders. The sleeves were hanging off till his wrists. The body rested until his mid stomach in a flow, enhancing his curves as he moved and at the same time hiding the fact that he has flat chest. The lower part of the costume was simple pants of the same cloth and color, though it started threateningly low on his hips and ended at his ankles, somehow highlighting exceptional legs in a sinfully innocent yet provocative way, legs that most women would die for.

Ryoma felt uncharacteristically nervous. He knew he should not have been because he had done it before, many times over the years, until he gradually became the object of lustful advances and Sasabe had ordered him to train others in his stead. About only the thing he was thankful of the old man, though he knew the older man's intention was never to maintain the innocence of his charge.

"You look stunning, by the way," Yukimura prodded the younger man.

The fact that his real gender was a secret still irked him. Sasabe, who had the cursed foresight of seeing a future use of his charge, had ordered he enhance his effeminate look. What the old man got was best deal of his life: a child to work for him like a slave for nothing and an attraction to draw big profits. Ryoma's life has always been all calculated for money and greed.

"Che, think about the bar…" Ryoma muttered under his breath.

Yukimura chuckled and went beside the younger man. He pulled him from his current position and enclosed him in a warm embrace, trying to make the shorter man feel better. Ryoma sighed and forgot about his inhibitions, feeling lightheaded from the warmth that was emitting from the older man. These were the moments he cherished so much in his still short life.

TBC…

* * *

This just came off more like a narrative introduction of Ryoma to the story. It'll get interesting in the next chapter when he and Tezuka finally meet. Thank you for reading the second chapter of **Beyond** and I hope you enjoyed it! Any comments or suggestions are welcome.

**nicki-gurl**


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